The proposed research project is a longitudinal epidemiologic study aimed at confirming or refuting the hypothesis that long-term low selenium exposure is associated with greater cognitive decline. Selenium is a trace element associated with the activity of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase. It is considered to be a defensive agent against free radicals through the maintenance of better enzyme activity. Associations between low selenium and increased risk in various disease indices (cancer, cardiovascular disease, reproduction and neonatal health, and asthma) have been reported. The limited studies on selenium and cognitive function or Alzheimer's disease, however, have not reached unequivocal conclusions. Studying the relationship between long-term selenium exposure and cognitive decline in the US population is difficult because the population is mobile and consumes foods that were produced and prepared in different areas of the world. Selenium exposure in the US population is also highly confounded by supplements that are related to the socio-economic and health status of the individuals. The rural Chinese population, in contrast to the US population, is unusually stable with most living in the same village throughout their entire life and consuming food that is locally grown. It is also rare for these villagers to take dietary supplements. Most importantly, selenium as an environmental agent has been studied extensively by Chinese scientists. We propose to conduct a longitudinal study on approximately 2000 rural Chinese age 65 and over with half of them from low selenium areas and the other half from normal selenium areas. The stability of this rural population allows for lifetime exposure estimates to environmental selenium. We hope to test the hypothesis that low selenium exposure is associated with greater cognitive decline. We will also determine the APOE genotype distribution in this population and test the hypothesis that possessing an APOE e4 increases the risk for cognitive decline. We will investigate whether the strength of the association between low selenium and cognitive decline is affected by APOE genotype. In addition we will try to identify other risk factors associated with cognitive decline in this population.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01AG019181-01A2
Application #
6573036
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-EDC-3 (01))
Program Officer
Wagster, Molly V
Project Start
2003-04-01
Project End
2008-03-31
Budget Start
2003-04-01
Budget End
2004-03-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$333,122
Indirect Cost
Name
Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
603007902
City
Indianapolis
State
IN
Country
United States
Zip Code
46202
Eurelings, Lisa Sm; van Dalen, Jan Willem; Ter Riet, Gerben et al. (2018) Apathy and depressive symptoms in older people and incident myocardial infarction, stroke, and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data. Clin Epidemiol 10:363-379
Su, L; Jin, Y; Unverzagt, F W et al. (2016) Longitudinal Association between Selenium Levels and Hypertension in a Rural Elderly Chinese Cohort. J Nutr Health Aging 20:983-988
Yang, Lili; Yu, Menggang; Gao, Sujuan (2016) Joint Models for Multiple Longitudinal Processes and Time-to-event Outcome. J Stat Comput Simul 86:3682-3700
Lai, Dongbing; Xu, Huiping; Koller, Daniel et al. (2016) A MULTIVARIATE FINITE MIXTURE LATENT TRAJECTORY MODEL WITH APPLICATION TO DEMENTIA STUDIES. J Appl Stat 43:2503-2523
Gao, Sujuan; Ogunniyi, Adesola; Hall, Kathleen S et al. (2016) Dementia incidence declined in African-Americans but not in Yoruba. Alzheimers Dement 12:244-51
Yang, Lili; Yu, Menggang; Gao, Sujuan (2016) Prediction of coronary artery disease risk based on multiple longitudinal biomarkers. Stat Med 35:1299-314
Wang, Chenkun; Gao, Sujuan; Hendrie, Hugh C et al. (2016) Antidepressant Use in the Elderly Is Associated With an Increased Risk of Dementia. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 30:99-104
Chen, Chen; Jin, Yinlong; Unverzagt, Frederick W et al. (2015) The association between selenium and lipid levels: a longitudinal study in rural elderly Chinese. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 60:147-52
Su, Liqin; Gao, Sujuan; Unverzagt, Frederick W et al. (2015) Selenium Level and Dyslipidemia in Rural Elderly Chinese. PLoS One 10:e0136706
Cheng, Yibin; Jin, Yinlong; Unverzagt, Frederick W et al. (2014) The relationship between cholesterol and cognitive function is homocysteine-dependent. Clin Interv Aging 9:1823-9

Showing the most recent 10 out of 30 publications